In certain clinical situations, patients can benefit from the occlusion of certain artery or vein segments through endovascular means. Clinical settings where endovascular vessel occlusion is beneficial include reducing bleeding from an injured vessel, reducing blood flow to tumors, and rerouting the path of blood in the vascular system for other purposes. Alternatively, minimally invasive, catheter-based, endovascular treatments have been developed to occlude blood vessel segments. Endovascular medical devices for blood vessel occlusion include balloon catheters wherein the balloon can be inflated to fill the lumen of a blood vessel segment and detached from the catheter. There are two major drawbacks to the use of detachable balloon catheters for blood vessel occlusion. First, the balloons are made of polymers that generally resist tissue incorporation that limits fixation of the devices where they are placed. Second, the balloons are configured with elastic walls which are expanded with pressurization and valves designed to maintain that pressure after detachment. Unfortunately, there is a substantial rate of balloon and valve failure, resulting in deflation. Without tissue incorporation, balloon deflation can lead to balloon migration and occlusion of non-target vessel segments. Endovascular medical devices for blood vessel occlusion include metal coils that are used to fill a portion of the lumen of a blood vessel segment to induce thrombosis and occlusion of the blood vessel segment. There are several major drawbacks to the use of metal coils and basket structures for blood vessel occlusion. First, numerous coils are usually required to occlude the blood vessel segment, resulting in higher costs and longer treatment times. Second, coil placement is difficult to control, often resulting in coil placement in non-target vessel segments. Third, coils only partially fill the blood vessel. The accumulation of thrombus and scar tissue is required to occlude the blood vessel, a process that takes weeks to occur and is sometimes incomplete, often resulting in incomplete occlusion or recanalization and a failed treatment. More recently, endovascular medical devices for blood vessel occlusion have been developed that include basket structures that are used to fill a portion of the lumen of a blood vessel segment to induce thrombosis and occlusion of the blood vessel segment. Although only a single basket structure is usually required to occlude a blood vessel segment, and the devices are generally easier to control, these devices only partially fill the blood vessel and require the accumulation of thrombus and scar tissue to occlude the blood vessel. As with coils, this process that takes weeks to occur and is sometimes incomplete, often resulting in incomplete occlusion or recanalization and a failed treatment.
Therefore, there remains a need for catheter-based medical devices, systems, and methods for the occlusion of blood vessel segments that are simple to perform, result in a rapid, controlled, and complete occlusion, have a low risk of recanalization, device migration, or other complications, and can be purchased at a reasonable cost.